A Mere Token
by K.Riley
Summary: A gift for an unsuspecting miko…
**A / N:** **I make no profit and own only the idea of this story. The true owners of the characters are Rumiko Takahashi and the original comic belongs to _YoukaiYume_ on deviantart.**

 **Anyway, I actually had this posted here a long time ago (like Chase Away The Darkness) before I took all of my stories down and went on deployment two years ago. Long story short, I found it in an old folder on my portable hard drive and decided to repost it as an Easter present. Happy Easter!**

 **Last thing, what I originally had as my author's note was that I had to write this one because I absolutely love Sess/Kag pairings and this one was an inspiration piece from a deviation I saw on deviant art by one of my favorite artists: _YoukaiYume_. This is a dedication to her comic _A Mere Token_. I added to it a little but I love her artwork so much that I had to write this piece. I hope you like it.**

 **Story Word Count: 1,355**

* * *

 **A Mere Token**

Kagome grumbled to herself as she shrugged on the miko's kimono. After having finally defeated the spider hanyou the exhausted miko found herself with nothing but the horribly soiled sailor suit she was wearing due to her old, yellow backpack having been the victim of one of Naraku's miasma attacks. So, for now, she had to wear one of Kikyo's old kimonos until she went back to her time to get some more clothes.

Sighing, she tied the cloth and stood, looking down at herself. It would have to do. Going outside Kaede's hut, she came face-to-face with Kaede whom she thanked for the clothes. "Think nothing of it, child," the elder miko said. "But I do have a favor to ask yee."

"Shoot," Kagome said, smiling gently.

"Could yee go into the forest to pick me some healing herbs. It seems I have run out since I've used the last on the hentai houshii," Kaede chuckled. In the background—as if on cue—the two women suddenly heard Sango cry out in disgust before there was a loud smacking sound. Kagome and Kaede both sighed, chuckling to themselves before the younger turned to the elder and told her she would.

Going back inside the hut, Kagome picked up Kaede's basket and headed out for InuYasha's forest, waving to Rin who was chasing Shippo in a fun game of Tag. The orange kimono she was wearing looked a bit raggedy and worn, the bottom of the hem reaching mid-to-high shin. In this day and age, it would be scandalous if this was not fixed soon. When she got back from picking herbs, maybe she could find a bigger kimono for the growing nine-year-old.

"Where are you going, Lady Miko Kagome-kun?" the little girl called out.

"Just to pick some herbs," the young woman smiled in reply.

"Would you like me to come with you?"

Kagome grinned and saw how Shippo sighed, shoulders slumping forward in sadness of losing his playmate. Kagome could not have her kit be sad and so returned, "No. Go ahead and continue playing. Besides, you have to show Shippo who's boss, little one." She laughed as Rin squealed, turned and pounced on the kit. She turned and went back to the task at hand. She began to hum a little tune as she spotted one of the bushes. Kneeling down, she continued to hum to herself as she picked at the plant, quickly filling the basket with the greenery. She was about halfway done filling the basket when she saw the new, pink scar on her wrist and remembered how she had gotten it and how she had been saved by none other than Lord Sesshomaru.

* * *

 **Beginning of Flashback**

 _Kagome watched as the hanyou screamed his last, purifying to dust and finally ending all the stress and pressure that the entire InuTachi had been fighting against for the past two years. InuYasha, body shaking with exhaustion turned to look at his first and best friend only to see her pulling one of the evil hanyou's spikes from her wrist, his last defiant act because he had nicked the artery. As she removed the spike, her blood instantly welled up and instantly began to pour out of the wound._

 _Kagome's knees buckled as she looked up from her fatal wound, looking at InuYasha. A strong arm grabbed her just before her knees hit the muddy ground, cradling her body against a hard body. Looking up into amber eyes, Kagome opened her mouth to speak to the Inu but the pain wracked through her body and she winced, trying not to whimper as the fire spread through her system._

 _"Help her!" InuYasha screamed._

 _Sesshomaru paid his half brother no mind as his mokomoko wrapped about the woman and he lifted his wrist to his own lips, his fangs cutting through his delicate skin easily, drawing his own blood. "Drink this miko… if you want to live," he hissed quietly. She gasped for breath only to have her mouth covered by the Inu's wrist, his blood dripping into her mouth and down her throat. She gagged, trying to push him away. "Since my blood is that of the youkai, it will heal you, miko. So drink." Trying to ease the fire, she did as she was told, feeling the fire recede as his blood entered her system. Licking at his wound, she felt his skin mend itself and shuddered, tasting his skin._

 _"Arigato, Sesshomaru," she whispered, glancing down at her wrist lazily. She watched as the skin healed on herself, the burning dulling to a warmth. "Arigato…" She closed her eyes slept then, letting herself heal some more._

* * *

Kagome hummed to herself. She owed Sesshomaru her life but knew there would probably be no way to repay him.

Suddenly, she sensed him and glanced up, behind her. There he stood, beautiful, majestic, clad from head to toe in the finest of white silk, his form nothing but grace and refinement. He was possibly the most beautiful of beings to grace the world and unlike the plastic peoples of the modern era, it was completely and utterly natural, and she was indebted to this stunning youkai; there were worse things in life she knew, which made Kagome smile. Aura still exuding the coolness and aloofness that made silence loud, there was a softer, gentler quality to it that seemed to relax even more when she was around him, or that was the way it seemed to the young miko who couldn't help but smile as she stood before him. He cocked his head toward her in silent greeting and she did the same, her eyes catching on the bundle of cloth the Taiyoukai held in his grasp. Upon further inspection, Kagome realized it was perhaps a kimono.

Meeting his amber-colored eyes, she asked, smiling gently as she pointed to the bundle, "Could you possibly be looking for your young ward, Rin, my Lord Sesshomaru-sama?" His eyes glowed for a second before he dipped his head quietly, his eyes never leaving her. Turning away from him back toward where the village, she missed how his eyes roamed over her figure as she said, "She's down in the village, playing Tag with my kit, or they were when I left."

"Arigato… Kagome," he murmured, passing her. Kagome smiled, waving to him, although he would never have seen it because his back was turned toward her. She sighed happily and turned back to finish the chore Kaede had sent her to do and was gifted with a lovely surprise. Reaching down slowly, almost afraid it would vanish if she touched it, she gently picked up a beautiful white and pink lily.

' _How did he manage to find this?'_ she wondered, raising it to her nose and taking a deep sniff of the wonderful aroma coming from the blossom. _'It's beautiful. Thank you, Sesshomaru.'_

* * *

"Lady Miko Kagome-kun," Rin called happily, dancing away from Kaede when the nine-year-old saw the young woman approach, waving. The little girl was smiling beautifully and upon her frame was the kimono Kagome had seen Sesshomaru carrying. She looked lovely in it; Shippo had stammeringly told her so just a few minutes before. "Do you like the gift Lord Sesshomaru-sama brought for me? Isn't it beautiful?"

"You look wonderful," the young woman assured the child, waving back. "It is a most beautiful kimono, Rin-chan. Lord Sesshomaru-sama has very good taste, doesn't he?" Both females giggled and Rin spun around, still showing off her kimono.

Neither noticed the white figure standing on one of the branches just above their head, his astute amber eyes instantly flicking to where the white and pink lily rested. Kagome had tucked the stem behind her ear, drawing the eye to her face. He couldn't help but feel his jaw slacken slightly at how her appreciation for the mere token he had bestowed upon her was affecting him. His heart beat just a little faster and he felt an unnatural warmth spread through him.

Perhaps he was sick…

' _Perhaps you are in love,'_ his inner beast murmured smugly.

* * *

 **For any of you who don't know the Japanese to English terms, I give you an Americanized dictionary (listed in order of appearance):**

 **Miko – priestess**

 **Kimono – usually in reference to a multilayered Japanese dress, can also be used (at least in the InuYasha verse as I have seen) in terms of the priestess garb (the huge "shirt" and "pants" though those are even looser descriptions of them)**

 **Hanyou – half demon, half human hybrid**

 **Hentai – pervert/perverted**

 **Houshii – priest or monk**

 **InuTachi – not an exact translation but loosely InuYasha's group/team**

 **Inu – Dog which technically means that Inuyasha is named Dog prince**

 **Mokomoko – lumpy, fluffy**

 **Arigato – thank you (like in Styx's Mr. Roboto song)**

 **Youkai – full demon**


End file.
